Through Her Eyes | Book #1

chapter 1.

           "Shit—I'm late."

           "Kathy, watch your language!"

           The sound of her father's somewhat stern voice coming from the living room as she sprinted around the house, struggling to find her copy of Lord of the Flies by William Golding that she had to take to school in hopes to finish her end of semester assignment in the quiet of the library after class, had Kathy let out a slight wince.

           "Sorry dad," a sigh escaped her lips, eyes moving around the living room where her father was sitting at the couch reading the morning newspaper. "Have you seen my book anywhere?"

           "It's in my office. You were reading it there last night while I worked, remember?"

           If Kathy hadn't been late, she would have smiled warmly at the memory, but at the sound of those words, she made sure to sprint to her father's study, quickly finding the beautiful yet somewhat tragic cover of the book she had been searching for.

           "Oh, thank god—you were hiding away from me, weren't you?" She whispered to the book, now a relieved smile on her face as she took it and quickly placed it on her backpack, patting it fondly before she was on her way down the stairs and into the kitchen, not forgetting to shout a 'thank you, dad' when she passed by the living room.

           "Mom, I'll be going." Taking a piece of freshly made toast and a quick sip from her mother's coffee, she tip toed to kiss her tall mother on the cheek, ready to bolt out the door of the house.

           "Are you wearing your eyeglasses?"

           Kathy's mother didn't glance from the pancake batter she was working on, but she was wearing a smile on her thin lips when her daughter kissed her cheek. There was love on her eyes and Kathy knew that it was always present when she was cooking for her daughter or for her husband. It was one of her passions: to feed her family and watch the happiness on their faces.

           "Yes, I am," a sigh resonated from her throat while she grabbed her packed lunch from the fridge, making her way quickly to the living room to plant a kiss on her father's cheek before she was out the door. She was already more than used to hearing that question every morning and, sometimes, when she was rushing, she wished she didn't have to hear it. It's not like she ever forgot her eyeglasses at home, or anywhere for that matter, but her parents were extra careful when it came to that.

           It was a cold Thursday morning and Kathy closed her jacket tight as she made her way to the bus stop near her house. During most days of the year, she'd take her time appreciating the children riding their bikes down the street or the air blowing through the trees that occupied the sidewalk and filled it with leaves during the arrival of Autumn. But that day, Kathy had no time for that. She was already late, and she wasn't even sure if she'd be able to catch the bus.

           Unluckily, even though most days the bus would arrive at least five minutes later than the scheduled time, somehow the driver had seemed to pick that day to arrive just on time and Kathy let out a groan of frustration when her neighbor, that was sitting on the bus stop, told her that she had missed the bus to school.

           "Thank you, Mrs. Brown," with a rushed wave of her hand, she ran further down the street, hoping that she'd at least get on time to catch the subway train. She didn't even listen to Mrs. Brown telling her to have a nice day, and frankly she wasn't very interested. It wasn't turning out to be even close to a good day. If it hadn't been for that piece of toast she had devoured as soon as she had taken a step out of her house's front door, even her stomach would be protesting by now.